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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. kid — child
  7. cue — a hint
  8. clip — to cut
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cue — for pool
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cue — a signal
  17. field — farmland
  18. stand — to bear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com